Business growth
Checkatrade was cited in 67.5% of my AI plumber searches
Checkatrade was cited in 81 of 120 OpenAI search answers across 20 UK cities. What that tells plumbers, and why it doesn't prove a listing helps.
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Practical guides to being found, winning trust and turning more visits into enquiries.
21 guides
Business growth
Should You Buy Roofing Leads or Build Your Own? The Honest Maths
Paying per lead, shared three ways, margin disappearing. Here is the honest arithmetic on buying roofing leads versus building visibility you own.
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Checkatrade Cost in 2026: What You'll Actually Pay
What Checkatrade really costs tradespeople in 2026: how the tailored pricing works, the 12-month catch, and the sums to run before you sign.
Read the guideWebsites
Do I Need a Website for My Business? A Straight Answer
Do you actually need a website in 2026? A straight answer for small businesses: when you do, the three cases where you don't, and what Facebook can't do.
Read the guideLocal SEO
Electrician SEO: Ranking for EV Charger Installation and Rewires
Most electrician websites bury EV charger work on a services list. Here is how UK electrical contractors win the searches they are quietly missing.
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Google Business Profile for Trades: Fix the Six Things That Stop You Ranking
Your profile exists but never appears in the map pack. Here are the six usual causes, how to diagnose each one, and what you can honestly influence.
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How Does Checkatrade Work for Tradespeople? (The Full Picture)
How Checkatrade works in 2026, for homeowners and for trades: the vetting, the reviews, how enquiries flow, who pays, and what it means for your business.
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How Long Does Local SEO Take for a Trade Business?
An honest local SEO timeline for UK trades: what happens in month one, month three, month six and month twelve, and the warning signs it is not working.
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How Roofers Get Found on Google: The UK Local Search Guide (2026)
How UK roofing enquiries are really won on Google: what homeowners search, how the map pack picks its three winners, and why timing decides the rest.
Read the guideWebsites
How to Choose a Web Design Agency (Without Getting Burned)
How to choose a web design agency in the UK: the questions that expose a bad one in ten minutes, ownership traps, and how to compare quotes properly.
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Is Checkatrade Worth It? An Honest Look for Trades
Is Checkatrade worth it for tradespeople in 2026? An honest review: when membership pays for itself, when it doesn't, and the alternatives.
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Is Local SEO Worth It for a Trades Business?
An honest answer to 'is SEO worth it for small business', including the five cases where I would tell a trade not to buy it at all.
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What Local SEO Actually Costs in the UK (And What You Get for It)
The real UK price bands for Local SEO, what each one buys you, and how to tell a fair quote from an expensive one.
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Marketing for Tradesmen: 12 Ways to Get More Leads
Marketing for tradesmen that actually fills a diary: 12 practical ways UK trades get more work in 2026, ranked by effort and payoff, no agency waffle.
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Roofing Website Examples: What Wins the Quote Request
Four types of UK roofing website, what each one gets right and wrong, and the elements that actually turn a visitor into a quote request.
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SEO for Plumbers: The Emergency Call-Out Advantage
How UK plumbers win emergency call-outs from search: map pack urgency, a page per service, Gas Safe trust signals and answering the phone.
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Service Area Pages for Trades: The Line Between Ranking and a Doorway Page
Location pages either earn a ranking or they are doorway pages. Here is the test, how many are justified, and why fifteen of mine are deliberately hidden from Google.
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Why Your Trade Website Is Not Getting Enquiries
A website not getting enquiries has one of two causes: nobody arrives, or everybody leaves. Here is how to tell which one you have, and what to fix.
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How Much Does a Website Cost UK? (2026 Prices)
How much does a website cost UK? Real 2026 prices: what £19 a month buys, freelancer and web design agency rates, and the three-year sums nobody shows you.
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The Web Design Process: What to Expect From an Agency
What actually happens during a website project: the stages from brief to launch, what's normal, where projects stall, and your job as the client.
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Website Maintenance Cost UK: What You Should Pay
What website maintenance costs in the UK in 2026: real monthly figures for DIY, freelancers and care plans, what's actually included, and what to skip.
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